


Irrational

by JauntyHako



Series: Post Season 5 AU [4]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen, Mentions of PTSD, There is no inbetween, When children see Todd they either cry or make him wear flower crowns, gratuitous fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 18:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7398775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JauntyHako/pseuds/JauntyHako
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The team tries to get the people of the galaxy used to the concept of a friendly wraith. An old acquaintance may help with that, albeit on accident.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Irrational

**Author's Note:**

> I'm rewatching SGA (again) and I just -had- to do something with Todd and Lucius meeting, I couldn't help myself.  
> Hope you enjoy :)

"I'm just saying, if you want to come along on all of our missions, we need to get word out that you're one of the good guys. So people don't shoot at you."

"Why, John Sheppard, I did not realise you cared."

John sideeyed Todd who laughed quietly to himself, as if he was the only person in the galaxy who got the joke. It was a thing he had in common with Rodney and as much as their usual bickering was annoying, John feared the day they'd realise what havoc they could cause working together. Although, to be fair, the replicators probably knew.

"Of course I care. We can't just march into the next village and watch people stab you with pitchforks. You know our luck, they'll probably end up stabbing us, too."

This time Todd's laugh was more pronounced, startling several marines passing them in the hallway. Even after two months people had not gotten used to Todd living on the base. They flinched when he raised his hand, the soldiers cradled their weapons, the scientists looked for the soldiers. After the rocky start they had, betraying each other at every turn, John hardly blamed them. He had to admit that it could have gone a lot worse. But Todd made a conscious effort to integrate himself into the crew, appearing to meal times even though he didn't eat, wearing the Atlantis uniform more days than not, and generally trying to be as non-threatening as possible, while somehow managing not to compromise himself in the process. John didn't know if the suspicion bothered him. If it did, he didn't show it.

"You've made your point. Am I correct in assuming you have already made contact with a promising community?"

John spread his arms and pouted in mock disappointment, walking backwards into the gateroom.

"Would I have called you otherwise?"

 

The gate closed behind them, leaving the team standing ankle-deep in desert sand. Rodney fell into a thorough explanation of the dangers of solar radiation and why had nobody told him the planet they were on was this hot, he would have brought sunscreen. Enough to share, too. John had gotten some of Rodney's IPF 100 concoction on his uniform before and it had taken forever to wash out the scent of coconut. For weeks people had asked him if he wore tropical perfume. He was not looking for a repeat performance.

Even so, the sun burned down on them with a force John hadn't seen since his deployment in Afghanistan. The only one undisturbed was, oddly enough, Todd who strode ahead in several square metres of black leather that should have made him cook from the inside. Instead he was downright chipper, regarding the stone road leading to the village with child-like curiousity.

"Wraith are ectothermic." Rodney said as Todd remarked on the fascinating pattern of the mosaic laid into the road. "And right about now I wish I was, too. This heat is killing me."

"Just another of the many advantages wraith have over your kind." Todd said and before John could warn Rodney to knock it off, he'd already risen to the bait. The two fell into an argument of the benefits and drawbacks of endothermic versus ectothermic heat regulation, which John tuned out until it was just white noise. Sometimes he missed having Ronon along. Granted, he and Todd would probably start shooting before calling each other a 'disgrace to your scientific community', but at least it'd be somewhat quieter.

Teyla watched the two with fond amusement as John caught up to her.

"So these people, you sure they're not gonna start shooting at us the moment we step foot in their village?"

"Life on this planet is harsh and thus their numbers are small. They have not been culled in several hundred years. However they are extraordinary traders, having much to offer in terms of minerals and foods that grow nowhere else in this galaxy. If we can convince them to trust Todd, they'll spread the word along their trade network."

"Which means less getting shot at."

Teyla nodded.

"Additionally, they also have developed a device that allows them to draw ground water with much more ease than before. Apparently it can only be operated by a single man in their village, but if this technology proves useful …"

"We could use something like that when we trade with other people." John finished and again Teyla nodded again, pleased.

"The village should be in sight, soon. May I recommend having Todd stay behind us until we have introduced ourselves? Our arrival is expected but I would not wish harm to come to anyone by accident."

"Good call. Hey, Todd! Take our six for a while, will you?"

Todd acquiesed without a word, falling behind them. While John's shirt was drenched in sweat, Todd might as well have been in the temperature regulated rooms of Atlantis. Ectotherm, indeed.

The village consisted of at least a dozen tents in varying sizes, along with livestock and the villagers themselves, reminding John uncomfortably of the taliban he fought in Afghanistan. He told himself to pull it together. Some superficial resemblance had better not be enough to make his lingering PTSD kick in. He fell back on the exercise he'd come up with just after his first deployment, when every bearded brown guy in a supermarket looked like an enemy. There had been good people over there, many more than there had been bad people and John recalled their faces and names until the dread dissolved and he could trust himself not to let some few traumatic experiences cloud his judgment. After all, if he expected them to trust Todd, he had to do those people the same courtesy.

"Teyla! It is good to see you." One of the villagers said as he came over, greeting Teyla in the traditional Athosian way. Then he stepped back to greet the rest of the group and spotted Todd.

"Dear Ancestors." he murmured, stumbling backwards on his feet. "When your delegate said you had allied with the wraith I did not want to believe it …"

"Just the one." John interjected before the man could panic and set off the entire village. Already people huddled in groups, whispering to each other. "And he's friendly, or we wouldn't have brought him here. Guys, this is Todd. Todd, guys."

Todd tilted his head in greeting and smiled, showing all his teeth. Somewhere a child began crying.

The spokesman of the village could not tear his eyes away from Todd, but his inaction seemed to throw him off. Wraith weren't generally known for just standing in the middle of the town square like novelty gargoyles.

"I don't know, Teyla. I know I promised we'd give your friend a chance, but this …"

"Teyla? Did I hear right?"

Cold shudders ran down John's spine. He knew that voice. He turned around slowly just in time to see a man in colourful garb try to envelop Teyla in a hug that she avoided by taking a step to the side, so he ran into Todd instead.

"Dear Gods." he said.

"Lucius." John said.

 

Lucius invited them into his tent which, John couldn't fail but notice, was the biggest one around. Some of the other villagers hung around outside, glowering at Todd through the tent flaps but pacified for now, knowing that one of their own was fine with him being there. Which brought John to the question at hand.

"What the hell are you doing here? When we saw you last you were on M65-PL8 getting your balls kicked by a nine year old."

"Ten. He was ten. And well, you know how it is. After the good people in that village figured out they didn't need me to protect them I saw my time had come to start traveling again, seeing the great wonders of this galaxy-"

"They kicked you out."  
"Well, not really kicked, no. We just mutually agreed that it would be best for everyone involved if I took some time off, stop being the invincible hero and be just me, Lucius Lavin."

"So how'd you scam your way into this community?" Rodney asked, although he didn't seem put off enough to decline the food, which was admittedly not half bad. John's favourite so far was a peelable reddish round fruit that tasted something like a banana-cherry smoothie. If they could establish trade with these people, he saw some tasty desserts in the future. The question was if it was worth dealing with Lucius.

"You hurt me, Doctor McKay. I am a changed man. Now I help the community to my best ability without asking anything in return. Well, except what people can part with, naturally. A little food here, some blankets there, occasionally someone to share them with, if you know what I mean. But enough about me. Do tell me about your friend. How did you meet? He is harmless, right?"

Todd growled with his teeth bared in a subtle but definite threat.

" _He_ is sitting right here, Lucius. This is Todd, he's our friend now. Todd, this is Lucius. I told you about him, remember?"

"Ah, yes. The petty little man who had to trick his own kind to be accepted among them." Todd said, looking Lucius up and down and pursing his lips, clearly unimpressed.

"Oh now that hurts. Little? I'm almost five foot nine."

"Five seven. If you wear boots." John said.

"Yes, yes, whatever. Let's talk more about you, Todd was it? That's a very interesting name. And how do you get your hair to go like that?"

 

"This man is insufferable." Todd said as they left the tent to check on the village some more before they went to sleep.

"Preaching to the choir, buddy. But since he doesn't actually hurt anyone this time around, we can't shoot him. Sorry."

Todd made a range of soft noises in exasperation. Lucius had that effect on people.

"This time, though, I think he might actually have something." Rodney said, tapping at his scanner. In the middle of the square stood something that looked like a well designed by one of the Ancients. It was filled to the brim with water. Some cups lay around for anyone to take.

"This is it?" John meant to have asked rhetorically but Rodney shook his head.

"No."  
"No?"

"That's what I just said, isn't it? That's not it. Or at least not all of it. The operating console is somewhere else, probably a few miles away."

"Why?"

Rodney hummed to himself, ignoring John in favour of the readings.

"It is likely the Lanteans would have build more than one such device." Todd said. "Perhaps they attempted to terraform this planet."

"That is a premature assumption." Rodney said. "We don't know what the Ancients wanted with this. For all we know it wasn't even originally meant to collect water."

"The villagers said this was the only well of its kind." Teyla said, her back to the group and watching the villagers, some of which followed at a respectful distance.

"The others were probably buried by sand ages ago." Rodney said, waving vaguely. "Look, I think I can trace the energy readings to their source. If we go right now-"

"No." John said. "We want people get used to Todd. If we leave now, they'll just get suspicious. We'll wait until tomorrow and ask for a guide."

"What? We don't _need_ a guide, we have me."

"Rodney."  
"Fine!"

They made their way back to Lucius' tent. Already the temperatures dropped, suggesting a cold night like in the deserts on earth. Taking advantage of Lucius' hospitality unfortunately also meant having to listen to his tall tales all night long. And where the villagers were wary of Todd, even afraid, Lucius had no such restraints. He needled the wraith for everything from his weapons to the designer of his coat, claiming it was very fashionable, although of course not as fashionable as the outfit made for him by the queen of a mysterious foreign country, in gratitude for saving her eleven younger sisters from an army of monsters. Of course when John asked to see the outfit in question, Lucius came up with a story of how he lost it while fighting against pirates in a deadly storm.

"Not that I'm saying you haven't had great adventures, you have." he ensured the team who hadn't been saying much of anything, although Todd hadn't stopped snarling in a while. Lucius tended to be a fairly active storyteller and Todd had to pluck him from his shoulders multiple times, each lowering his patience.

"It's just, you know as well as I do, that my adventures have that little special something that really makes them great. Now it's not your fault, I know that, but I could give you some suggestions. Free of charge, of course, because you are very dear to me. You, too, my shark-teethed friend. All that black and you're really surprised people are afraid of you?"

"He does have a point." John said, because he didn't know when to quit and poking the sleeping wraith was just a little more entertaining than annoying Rodney who was still busy with his readings. Todd shot him a look of pure betrayal.

"See, Colonel Sheppard agrees with me. Now, I'm sure I can find something in your size, something more colourful. How do you feel about lace?"

John chortled into his drink, trying to hide his grin behind the cup. Judging from Todd's expression, he wasn't successful.

Since they couldn't exactly kick Lucius out of his own tent, they had to make due with several more or less subtle hints that they really were very tired and needed a lot of rest before he got the idea and left them to it. Todd ignored them for the rest of the night.

 

They set off towards the source of the energy readings early the next day, led by an older woman who according to Teyla knew the terrain like no other. She was almost blind and John wasn't entirely sure she'd been told there was a wraith in her company because whenever she interacted with Todd she called him "dear" and attempted to poke his cheeks. The height difference made short work of that attempt, though. All seemed well until Lucius showed up with a younger woman in tow carrying his pack.

"What do you think you're doing?" John asked, his nerves still strained from the night before.

"What kind of friend would I be if I let you wander off into the desert all by yourself, huh? I'm going with you, of course. You'll see, it'll be fun!"

Without further argument Lucius went ahead, taking the matter out of their hands.   
"We could tie him up somewhere and leave him to be eaten by whatever lives here." Rodney suggested quietly as they followed the old lady climbing a dune as if it was nothing.

"Dr McKay makes a sound suggestion." Todd said. "I will volunteer to be the 'whatever' eating him."

In a mood like that John never knew if he was joking or not.

"Careful. Might get indigestion. Let's just play nice for a while. If I know this guy he's scammed the villagers somehow and they'll chase him out of town by the end of the day."

Todd made a vaguely hopeful sound, while Rodney expressed his doubt, but then he was ever the pessimist.

As the sun rose so did Todd's energy levels. Lucius, who'd once again attached himself to Todd's side questioned him about all things wraith. What he planned to do with the information was anyone's guess. Probably incorporate it into his stories. Even someone who didn't know wraith very well had to pick up on the obvious warning signs. The increasingly non-verbal communication, the way he drew himself up to his full height, towering over Lucius in all his imposing wraith glory. John would have hightailed it by now but either Lucius didn't notice what went on or he ignored it. For a man so utterly cowardly he didn't seem to have a problem annoying a wraith.

It was around midday that John decided to call it quits. Just because Todd had promised not to feed on anyone who didn't attack them first, didn't mean they had to test his limits.

"All right, Lucius, scram. That's enough."

Lucius complained but obeyed, only to gravitate towards Teyla who quite possibly had even less patience for the man than Todd did.

John tried to strike up a conversation with Todd but apparently he was still on the wraith's bad list for encouraging Lucius last night. They were back to growls and body language right up until Rodney shouted that they found it.

 

It was an Ancient outpost and almost intact, as well, if mostly buried by sand. They entered through an open window hatch of what used to be the roof but was now level with the ground around them. Their guide as well as Lucius' assistant refused to go down with them, claiming the place was haunted.

Rodney muttered something about primitive superstitions and together with Todd set to work getting the place up and running again. Despite Rodney's claims to the contrary, they got things done quicker than before Todd joined their team and in those life and death situations they kept finding themselves in the seconds or even minutes they saved was well worth the price. The price being …

"It's a terraforming project."

"And some of us did not even need someone to spell it out for them." Todd said smugly.

"Har har, that was a lucky guess and you know it. The well could have been used as who knows what. I wait until I know things before making wild assumptions."

"Claim what you will, Dr. McKay, but it took me far less information to come to the correct conclusions. I suggest leaving the actual science to me. I shall call upon you if I am in need of someone to point out the obvious."

"Oh yes? Like the time when you-"  
"Kids, knock it off. Is there anything useful in the database?"

Rodney and Todd kept arguing back and forth but they did work through the database, while Lucius tried his best to keep them from doing it.

"You see, I'm the only one who can use the well. Without me it would dry out. And I just think it's a very fair arrangement that I've made, between the villagers and me. I supply them with lots of clear, fresh water and in return I get just the odd scrap. I am a modest man and-"

"The system is not biometrically locked." Rodney said. "Anyone can use it."

Lucius cursed softly then approached John, honey dripping from every word.

"Colonel Sheppard, John, I can call you John right, I think we're on a first name basis by now, after all we've known each other for so long. You wouldn't-"

"We'll tell the villagers they can use this thing without you." John said resolutely and Lucius deflated.

"I think I can do one better." Rodney said and began calling up other programs.

"Rodney?"

"Dr. McKay thinks he can reboot the project's photovoltaic generator and activate several other features." Todd said. "And he can. With my help."

"I don't need your help."

"You are mistaken. I have already initialised start-up."

"What? How did you manage … nevermind."   
Around them the outpost came to life, engines rumbling, accompanied by a sound like sand running through an hourglass as millennia old solar cells rose out of the sand. They heard the two villagers yelping outside and Teyla went up to explain what happened. As soon as Rodney made sure the system worked as advertised they followed her into the sunshine again. Lucius had already recovered from this momentary setback. Whatever else John could say about him, and he could say a lot, the man was resilient.

"I was thinking, maybe it's time for a new crowd. As a man with many gifts, it would be downright cruel of me to deny others the privilege of my presence. I could do a lot of good. And of course I'd humbly accept whatever forms of gratitude the people could come up with. Say, Todd, what do your women look like? Are they all …" He gestured vaguely and made a face at Todd, who ignored him utterly. Not even a warning growl anymore. If John hadn't come to trust Todd by now, he would have drawn his weapon.

"I'm just saying, a man of my standing and talents has certain standards." said Lucius who at some point must have lost his self-preservation instinct. "Although I'd settle for one of your queens, _if_ she's pret-"

One second Lucius was happily walking alongside the wraith, the next he hung in the air, gasping for air as Todd dug his nails deeper into his throat. The old blind lady had put herself between Todd and the younger woman who stared over her shoulder.

"Buddy. Todd. Let him go, he's not worth it."

Lucius nodded erratically.

"Yes, yes! Listen to him. Really, not worth the trouble. And my blood going everywhere would make such a mess, too. I-"

Todd showed his teeth and Lucius shut up, pushing at his hand around his neck. His face turned an interesting shade of purple.

Just when they thought he fell unconscious Todd let go, dropping Lucius to the ground coughing and wheezing. With one last glance at John Todd turned on his heel and returned to the village on his own. He thought he'd looked apologetic. Then again he had just thoroughly messed up on good first impressions.

"Go after him and make sure the villagers don't freak out." John said to Teyla who didn't need much prompting. The two villagers in tow she set off after Todd, while John and Rodney took a small detour to the gate to check in with Woolsey on their progress.

"Guess we can forget the friendly wraith act, huh?" Rodney said and although John didn't say it, he felt the same. Lucius had it coming but the villagers would only see a wraith attacking a human, just like John had seen nothing but enemy soldiers for months after coming home from the war. It had taken years of actively fighting against this bias it still wasn't gone completely. Even the people on Atlantis, who saw Todd every day, hadn't gotten used to him yet. This whole endeavor was doomed to fail from the start. Lucius only hammered the final nail in the coffin.

Looking on the bright side, they probably helped these people a long way with their crops and water supply. That was not nothing. Even if he wished he could bring Todd on missions on inhabitated planets.

"Colonel Sheppard? This is Teyla."

Rodney and John shared a look, as John raised the radio to his lips.

"What is it?"

"You need to see this in person, Colonel."

 

Todd wore a flower crown. The villagers had made him the guest of honour at an impromptu party, offering him food and apologising for their insensitivity when he declined. The old lady sat next to him and from the gestures she recounted the incident with Lucius. Laughter carried over to John, Rodney and Teyla, who all stared open mouthed at the display.

"What the hell happened? We were gone for like half an hour." John said at last.

"Apparently the villagers believe that anyone who had the chance to hurt Lucius and restrained themselves is no danger to them." Teyla said. "I do not think he was very popular among them."

"Yeah, no kidding. I hurt a lot of bad guys and I never got a flower crown."

By now the villagers had noticed their return and urged them to sit at their table. Todd, sitting at the top, looked as regal as only a wraith could, smiling at John as if he had it all planned from the beginning. John would have bet a month's salary he was just as surprised as the rest of them.

"We understand now why you chose to trust this one." said one of the villagers, the one who greeted them on their first day. "Many of us would not have resisted the urge to inflict pain on this horrible man. We will gladly tell our friends on other worlds that Todd is to be trusted."

Making friends by mutual dislike seemed to work. As the day bled into evening and torches and candles were lit to keep the party going, more and more people lost their shyness around Todd until even the children crowded around him, their fear replaced by natural curiosity. A girl of maybe six years begun to untangle Todd's hair and braided flowers into it, while another girl examined Todd's feeding hand. He let them without complaint, only flinched slightly when the girl at his hand stuck her finger in the slit.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked and Todd shook his head, ruffling her hair in reassurance. Still she let off his hand and worked up his coat, fascinated by the smooth black leather.

John elbowed Rodney to get his attention.

"Hey. You still take that camera with you?"

"What? Yes, why?" Rodney followed John's eyes. "Oh."

 

 

"That's going in the album." John said a few days later with a stack of printed pictures in his hand. He was on his way to get copies to half the base, who'd had practically lined up to demand the pictures after hearing the story, and wondered just how pissed Todd would be if he got Rodney to change the backgrounds on all their computers to the one of him with the flower crown sitting crooked on his head like a broken halo. Even if Woolsey didn't let them, he'd always have the picture to put in his album, filled so far with dozens of photos with people from the Pegasus galaxy, most of them trading partners of the Athosians as well as Teyla's people themselves, often photographed during various festivities. Then there were the snapshots from life on Atlantis. Rodney's lab in disarray with the occupant asleep on the keyboard. Several pictures of Elizabeth he still couldn't look at. Ronon and Teyla sparring, or waiting in the gate room to explore yet another world. It was as close to a family album as one John Sheppard could get, and Todd's pictures deserved a special place in it.

But before he did that, he'd go find Todd and tease him about it a little more.

 

 


End file.
